Judge Makes
Ruling on Pesticide Warning Labels More Strict(Beyond
Pesticides, October 20, 2005)On
Monday, Washington District Judge John Coughenour told the EPA that they
must do a better job of informing the public of the potential hazards
to salmon and steelhead caused by commonly used pesticides. In January
2004 Judge Coughenour ruled that the EPA review the impact of various
popular pesticides, 2,4-D;
diuron;
triclopyr and
trifluralin;
carbaryl and
malathion,
on endangered and threatened fish. While the review is being completed,
use of the pesticides has been curtailed, and buffer zones along waterways
have been required for farmers, orchardists, golf course owners and others.

The original ruling
also required that stores selling the pesticides put signs up so that
consumers are aware of the potential hazards. The notification process
was originally the responsibility of a pesticide industry group, CropLife,
however it soon became apparent that there was little compliance. In July,
a review of local retailers, including Home Depot and Wal-Mart, was conducted.
The review found that only one out of eight stores in the area had posted
the signs.

In response to the
poor execution of the rulings, Judge Coughenour has stiffened the requirements.
According to an article
in Oregon Based Paper The Register-Guard, the Judge is now requiring
the EPA itself to “send letters about the policy to retailers in
urban areas with more than 50,000 people, and to provide the stores with
a list of the chemicals and the products that contain them.”

The new ruling also
requires the EPA to post off of the information on their website. Previously
this job was also given to the pesticide industry, which posted the information
on a website that was difficult to navigate and directed visitors to the
information through a path of promotional materials.